Obamas’ post-White House address: Nine-bedroom mansion in Washington

Washington, May 26 (IANS) The Obamas will be shifting to an 8,200-square-foot nine-bedroom luxurious mansion in the upscale Kalorama neighbourhood of Washington after the family leaves the White House in January.

According to the New York Times, the house is a short distance away from the White House and is owned by Joe Lockhart, a former press secretary and senior adviser to former president Bill Clinton.

The New York Times, citing unnamed people familiar with President Barack Obama’s plans, said the family would rent the home as they plan to stay in the capital until daughter Sasha completes high school in 2018.

The house is valued around $6 million and the monthly rent is estimated at some $22,000.

The home, as per photographs posted by Washington Fine Properties, has spacious rooms with hardwood floors, white marble countertops, his-and-her master bathrooms and a terrace with formal gardens.

It also has an “au pair suite”, suitable for Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama’s mother, who has lived with the family in the White House during Obama’s two-term presidency that ends in January.

The house can also accommodate the Secret Service contingent that remains with a president after leaving office. A gated courtyard on the side has space for several vehicles and the addition of a guardhouse.

“The move will put the Obamas in one of Washington’s wealthiest ZIP codes, in a secluded precinct backing up to Rock Creek Park that is home to diplomats and a focal point of the capital’s cocktail-party circuit,” the NYT said.

The home has a rich history. It was built in 1928 by F. Moran McConihe, a real estate developer who played an important role in the expansion of Kalorama and served in the General Services Administration under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

It was bought by Captian Charles Hamilton Maddox, a veteran of both world wars, who in 1912 designed and tested, in-flight, the first successful radio equipment used in naval aircraft. His daughter, Muriel Maddox, acted alongside Marlon Brando in the movie “The Men” and wrote a number of romance novels.

The neighbourhood has long been home to prominent politicians, including Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover and Senator Edward M. Kennedy.